Greek President orders last ditch talks to stave off new election

Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos told Mr Papoulias that he is unable to form a coalitionAlkis Konstantinidis/EPA

The President of Greece has summoned the country’s political party leaders to last-ditch talks to stave off a second general election likely to send the country hurtling out of the euro.

After negotiations to form a pro-austerity coalition government collapsed on Friday night, Karolos Papoulias will this morning meet the heads of the three parties which won the most votes.

Then he will hold individual talks with the leaders of four smaller parties which won parliamentary seats.

They include Alexis Tsipras of the Radical Left Coalition (Syrzia), who last night moved to force a new election — which he would be expected to win — when he rejected a final coalition bid by three other parties seeking to avoid a second poll.